Kerala was struck by a flood which not only took hundreds of lives, but left several thousands devoid of all their properties and prone to a parade of deadly infectious diseases. Several families are still residing at the relief camps and many have went back to their flooded houses. The only thing that they have not lost is their will power and their good health. Now, this article is a simple one which will help you protect and prevent from several diseases that are lingering close to you, whether you are at a relief camp or back home from the camp. Simply follow the steps mentioned in this article and protect your health as well as the health of your loved ones.
#1 Always drink boiled water for obvious reasons. It doesn’t matter whether you are at the relief camp or back home from one. Boiling water kills almost 99.99% of harmful germs and micro-organisms thereby protecting you from all those water-borne diseases.
#2 Don’t use water from your flooded well for drinking or any other household purposes. The well water can only be used after de-contaminating it first. Now, that is a lengthy process and you can find a beautifully written article here on the various steps involved in cleaning the flooded well. We at BeingTheDoctor have already written an article on Well water chlorination and you can find it by clicking the link. After repairing and flushing and then chlorinating your Well, do not forget to take a water sample in a sterile bottle and test it both biologically and chemically. Start using the water only if the test results comes out satisfactory.
#3 Leptospirosis or Weil’s disease is taking lives every day in Kerala and the death rate has been on a rise ever since the floods. Doxycycline, is a very effective and freely available tablet that can prevent you from Leptospirosis. It is now being distributed free of cost at your nearest primary health centers and sub centers. You just need to contact the friendly neighborhood ASHA or any other health worker and get the same preventive tablets from them. Be careful while moving in stagnant water especially when your body has a small cut or wound through which the bacteria causing Leptospirosis can enter your body and start the infection. If fever and body ache along with reddish eyes and dark coloured urine appears , make sure that you get medical help at the earliest.
#4 No is the most important time to practice good personal hygiene measures. Wash your hands before and after eating food. Make use of soap and water properly while washing though.
#5 If you have been living at a relief camp all these days, it would be a good idea to consult your nearest Doctor for a routine checkup. This is very important as many communicable diseases are prevalent these days. If you or any one in your family has a fever for more than two days, you should definitely seek medical advice.
#6 Be careful before you try to run an electronic device like television, water pump or refrigerator. You should first make sure that the device was not damaged by water . Apply the same precautions before using cooking gas stoves too. An electrical short-circuit is the last thing that you’ll need in your house when you reach back! If water level in your house had went way beyond the electrical switch boards, then do not power on electricity until an electrician clears the lines and nods a yes.
#7 Dispose household waste properly after separation of biological waste from others. If we don’t practice proper waste segregation and disposal now, we might have to pay a larger price for our laziness and ignorance in the future. Here’s another article published at BeingTheDoctor on how to adopt a good waste disposal system in your home.
#8 This step is a basic one that we assume you have already completed immediately after reaching back home. For those of you who are making plans to move to your flood affected houses, make sure that you disinfect the floors and walls with hypochlorite solution. Furniture that can still be used should also be disinfected properly.
That’s it! Those were some of the simple steps that you should follow if you were affected by the floods. If we have missed any steps, please do share it in the comments section below. Share this article with your friends and family and with all those persons whom you think could use the info.
